Monday, December 10, 2007

Politically Correct Religion

In my post about public schools I spoke about Islam being politically correct (PC), while Christianity and Judaism aren’t. I mention Judaism not being PC mainly because of the attitude towards Israel by the PC crowd.

For example, some “liberal” Christian denominations either have, or are planning to, divest themselves of any companies in their endowment portfolios that do business with Israel. Some liberal groups want you to boycott Israeli-made products. Why is this happening?

Two reasons I can think of:

(1) Anti-Semitism is still around, and it manifests itself in various ways, such as unwavering support for the Palestinians with minimal rights for Israel. This unconditional support for the Palestinians masquerades as fairness, but is really anti-Semitism by a different route.

That doesn’t mean the whole Palestinian issue shouldn’t be fairly resolved, because it should. But we also have to remember that from the Palestinian point of view, the only acceptable solution is the total annihilation or elimination of Israel. They want the Middle East Judenrein. That is unacceptable because Israel is a legitimate nation established by the UN and immediately recognized by the two superpowers of the time: the US and the USSR.

(2) For whatever reason, Islam is politically correct these days. I don’t know how something becomes PC – I’m not privy to that decision-making process. Since there is conflict between Israel (Jews) and the Palestinians (Muslims), guess who gets the support of the PC types?

Of course we get a PC spin to the news in the media as well. Sometimes subtle, but still there. For example, Palestinian terrorists are called “insurgents” or “militants” but not what they really are, terrorists. Those who blow up innocent civilians in Israel are called “suicide bombers” but not what they really are, mass murderers. Wailing Palestinian women are shown at length grieving over the loss of loved ones killed in an Israeli retaliation after it’s been viciously attacked. But there is little, if any, coverage of Israeli civilian deaths except when the carnage is so spectacular that the media has to give it more attention. Even then, the bloody scenes are shown for only a few seconds, and the narrative implies the Israelis were asking for it. The list goes on.

That’s not to say Israel is perfect, but it does have a right to exist and live in peace. The day after the state of Israel was formed on May 15, 1948, the surrounding Arab nations declared war on it and immediately invaded the newly-formed state, expecting a quick victory. Miraculously, the fledgling Israeli defense forces beat back the invaders. There has been a state of war, more or less, ever since. Until Jesus comes again in glory and resolves everything, we should all pray for the peace of Jerusalem.